Alexander vs. Tolkien

I've read two series in near succession of each other: Lloyd Alexander's *Prydain Chronicles* and J.R.R. Tolkien's *Lord of the Rings* (which I have yet to finish, but still...) and have found something amazing.
Both Alexander's and Tolkien's Books have deep ties to Welsh mythology and the similarities are thus:
-Both are in distant lands that very CLOSELY resemble Wales
-Both are epics, with good in the form of simple farm people, pitted against evil, both in the form of a Dark Lord.
-Both have Protagonists (Frodo Baggins in Tolkien's and Taran of Caer Dallben in Alexander's) who are from peaceful farm-like homelands and both wanted an Adventure in which to prove their heroism and Bravery and Manhood.
-Upon ventering out past the boundaries of their safe havens, both heroes deeply regretted ever wanting to come on said adventure and miss the safe comforts of their homeland.
-Both have mysterious, wise, all-powerful wizards who help the main characters in their plights.
-Both end with final battles in which the Dark Lord is defeated.
-Both series' epilogues contain the heroes leaving to the "Land across the Sea" In the east, where they will live forever.
-Both have strange, sub-human creatures with speech impediments ("Smeagol"/"Gollum" in Lord of the Rings and "Gurgi" in Prydain).
-Both had large amounts of poetry and song in similar Celtic and Welsh verse.

I came across the comparison when a friend of mine saw me reading the last of Prydain, "The High King" (Cross-reference with the "Return of the King"), and said--I am paraphrasing--that she used to like Prydain before reading LOTR, and then realized that Prydain was Cop-out.
Prydain is NOT a Cop-out. Yes, the reading level of Prydain is significantly lower that Lord of the Rings, mainly because Alexander was writing for a much younger audience than Tolkien.
Both Alexander's and Tolkien's Author's Notes claim that the setting in which their stories take place are in a land totally of their own envention but do have significant ties to Welsh scenery and myths and Lore. I did notice that Alexander's book stuck much closer to the legends of Wales while Tolkien strayed far more into the heart of Fantasy itself, which is not to the advantage nor disadvantage of either parties. In Prydain, The "Bauble" of Princess Eilonwy and the bottomless food wallet of Gurgi do come from real Welsh lore, as do many motifs, including the "Land beyond the Sea," appearing in both novels.
Another similarity concerning the ending of the two books: While the majority of the successful heroes of the novels go to the Land beyond the Sea and immortality therein, there must, in each book, be one character to stay behind to complete, and even carry one, the story; Sanwise Gamgee in LOTR, and Taran (along with his beloved Princess Eilonwy and "faithful Gurgi") in Prydain.
A difference I found, however: in Prydain, the language was easy, roll-off-your-tongue simple, obviously for Alexander's younger audiences, while LOTR's language was so rich, I found, that I couldn't read in long periods. Beautiful and addicting, yes, but so rich and decadent, that I felt as if I were coming up for air between chapters, and even paragraphs.
I see it like this: Alexander's Writing is like the dinner rolls at Thanksgiving: I never get tired of them, even after I lose count of how many I've actually consumed; Tolkien's is like a chocolate-covered banana split Sundae with nuts, caramel, whipped cream, and a cherry on top: so delicious that it's the first thing I take off the buffet desert table, but so rich, that I must wolf down several Dinner rolls in between small servings of Sundae, yet I never really getting tired of the sweet, loaded-down richness of the Sundae. Both are delicious Must-Have's.
I also found that both of the books had similar morals and themes in them, despite their taking completely different paths to get to the morals.
In both Series' favors: I have fallen in love with the characters in both. Taran, Eilonwy, Fflewder Fflamm (I don't know if I got enough F's and M' in there), Gurgi, Prince Gwydion, Orwen, Orduu, and Orgoch, etc, in Prydain, and Aragorn, Gandalf, Frodo, Sam, Bilbo, Legolas, and Gimli in Lord of the Rings. Each are Superb in their own, complete differentials.